The Ubco 22 electric farm bike will be in production by Christmas with initial marketing aimed at New Zealand and Australia. Strong international interest means the company will bring forward plans to sell into North America, said Timothy Allan, managing director of Tauranga’s Locus Research.

Locus is a co-investor in Ubco and works closely with the bike’s developers Anthony Clyde, based near Whakatane, and Daryl Neal from Wellington.

“What’s happened is that interest overseas spiralled up from Ubco being featured on international gear site Uncrate. We’ve had a huge volume of email queries internationally, so to some extent we’ve had to look at bringing our North American approach forward.”

Ubco has begun working with NZTE on a North American strategy, he said.

The Ubco founding partners are two of New Zealand’s leading e-bike industry experts. Their first farm bike prototype debuted at the 2014 Fieldays, winning two Innovation Awards and they worked to test and improve their design to re-launch at 2015 Fieldays.

The bike is a quiet, lightweight, emission-free, off-road 22 that can carry tools and be used in an agricultural setting.

However, Allan said that, although the bike had been launched at Fieldays, potential buyers were looking at a range of applications.

“The responses include tourism operators, and a lot of people from metro environments who are interested in a commuter option. We will be moving very quickly to get road legal certification in New Zealand and Australia.”

Allan said it had been incredibly challenging finalising the production model and getting features and parts to the point where the team was happy. Recent developments have seen major improvements with an upgrade to the drive chain, controller and battery system, Allan said.

“We’re now at the point we expected to be by the middle of next year.”

Clyde said the key components had been upgraded to a higher level, providing much more power and range.

The bikes are designed in New Zealand, but the key components are made in China.

“The major change was to the motor,” said Clyde. “It’s bigger and that allows it to take more current.”

The system features a drive on each wheel and each motor has been upgraded by 25 per cent to 1kw. In addition to new controllers, the company has also taken advantage of developments in international lithium battery technology and pricing and has now opted for Panasonic as a supplier. The new battery system would deliver around 58 volts and 48 amp hours.

Allan said the publicity generated by the Ubco bike was unprecedented for any product he had worked on.

“I think a lot of it can be attributed to the concept, but the design is just as important. It’s got an appeal that has obviously resonated with a lot of people. The challenge now is getting out into the market fast enough to ensure we stay in front.”

Attachments:

I had an email from Ubco this week about a road going version of teh Ubco 2 wheel drive electric motorcycle.

Ubco stated: “We are working towards releasing a road legal bike near the end of this year. We will also be working to create more efficiency from the drives we have and updating our control systems accordingly.”

Bay of Plenty-based electric off-road bike maker Ubco has begun assembling, testing and shipping its first production models to meet pre-order and dealer demand in New Zealand and Australia.

The award-winning startup, which was co-founded by Whakatane-based Antony Clyde and his partner Daryl Neal in Wellington, is also seeking $1.5 million to $2.5 million in second stage funding from the Bay’s early stage funding group Enterprise Angels.

The bikes were designed and developed by the founders in partnership with Tauranga industrial design and development company Locus Research, with core components built in China and assembled in Tauranga.

“The final production model is much higher performance, the finish is much better and we’ve got about 50 per cent more torque,” said Locus managing director Timothy Allan.

Ubco has taken delivery of 150 bikes initially and has recruited former BMW mechanic Gareth Hill to supervise production.

The company has subcontracted ZTR Mowers in Tauranga for the initial assembly of the bikes, which come in three basic parts – frame, wheels and battery pack.

“We have about 15 dealers appointed provisionally in New Zealand,” said Mr Allan. “As soon as people have their pre-orders and the bikes are out there and available to try, that will really move things along.”

Mr Clyde, who returned on Sunday from a visit with Darryl Neal to Chinese supply chain partners, said the production bikes were being rigorously tested before going out to customers.

“We loaded the bikes up and really thrashed them at TECT Park,” he said. “They’re rated at 200kg. They weren’t rated to drive across a motocross park fully loaded – but they did. Customers are really loving them.”

Enterprise Angels executive director Bill Murphy said the initial response to Ubco’s pitch at last month’s meeting had been positive, with 25 members expressing interest. The group was currently doing due diligence on Ubco, he said. Funds were likely to come from a mix of members, matching funding from Seed Capital Investment Fund and the angel group’s sidecar fund, as well as other wealthy private investors and regional funds.

“It’s a very accessible deal,” said Mr Murphy. “They bring the bike to meetings and potential investors can see it and touch it. The product development side is really strong. They’ve done a great job of that.”

The company initially focused on the farm bike sector as the best way to secure early sales. However, Mr Allan said there were a number of other interesting applications opening up, including potential tour guiding opportunities, which could leverage the bike’s silent running. And there was huge potential in developing an on-road version, which was planned for later in the year.

Ubco:

* Ubco was admitted in December 2015 to Focus 700, a targeted group of New Zealand companies that receive export development support from NZTE.

Attachments:

A road registered Ubco didn’t make the 2017 model year but Ubco have commented on their facebook page that
they will be releasing their new 2018 model soon which will be classed as a moped and be a road registrable vehicle.

@eddieb said:
I had an email from Ubco this week about a road going version of teh Ubco 2 wheel drive electric motorcycle.

Ubco stated: “We are working towards releasing a road legal bike near the end of this year. We will also be working to create more efficiency from the drives we have and updating our control systems accordingly.”

UBCO is now street legal with the release of a road-registerable model of our award-winning UEV – the 2018 2×2, as well as our own custom line of accessories.

Dual Use

Although the dual-use UBCO 2018 2×2 may appear visually similar to its predecessor, 130 of the 150 components are either new or renewed, making it a superior model in all regards.

A key benefit is that the new 2018 model can be registered for on-road use in New Zealand, Australia and the United States, meaning users will no longer be faced with a barrier between on- and off-road travel.
To achieve this, we have added all the road-worthy components, including brake lights, indicators, reflectors, a motor cut off switch, steering lock, speedometer, odometer and a combined high and low beam LED headlight.

Its classification as an LA moped with a top speed of 50kmph means that no motorcycle license is required for the 2018 2×2 in New Zealand, making it accessible to the everyday person. While the 2018 2×2 is also classed as a LA moped in Australia, and a motor-driven cycle or moped in the US, licensing requirements vary depending on local country and state laws.

As UBCO Product Manager, Stuart Munro explains, the 2018 2×2 facilitates a new dual-use environment for users. “I think one of the biggest benefits of the 2018 2×2 is it’s dual-use capability. There aren’t many 2-wheelers out there that are equally at home both on- and off-road, especially ones that are as easy to use and quiet as the UBCO.

“Whether it’s for commuting, farming, hunting, government bodies, tourism or conservation work, the dual-use 2018 2×2 is designed to allow the rider to go where they want, when they want.
“This ease of use and its LA/moped vehicle class means the 2018 2×2 is accessible and suitable for almost anyone and opens the door to unconstrained adventure,” he said.